Still, I will hope
by KaRath
Summary: The world is falling around him, people dying or dead, and his loved ones missing. But still, he will hope for the best, and stay true to his values and cores, persevering until the end, where he will find what he is looking for. Some MatthewxKaris but more in later chapters - AU, Minor Character Deaths (no major character deaths)
1. EndGame

"This one is a long one. Sure you want to stay and hear it?"

He could not make out the man's features, as his face was hidden by a cloak, protected against the dancing flames of the fire in front of them.

Thinking. Weighing up the situation. Decided to stay.

"I'll listen." He settled in, but his hand never strayed far away from his weapon – not afraid of the stranger, but afraid of any possible ambushes. Anything was possible.

"Started a while ago, back when there was a civilised society, peaceful people." The cloaked man shifted his clothes, drawing slightly closer to the fire.

"I know," his counterpart replied. "I was there."

###

"Another long day, another end!" A spiky, red-haired man cheered as he bounded up to the couple holding hands.

The green-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Tyrell, calm down. It's just the end of another university day, not semester exams."

"Aww, come on! Time to go back home, fire up the computer, and relax the day away! Aren't you excited, Matthew?" Tyrell turned to address the blonde-haired boy who was holding Karis's hand.

He shrugged. He wasn't going to tell Tyrell that he planned to head home and study.

Tyrell shaked his head. "You two are a fun-killing couple."

Two blue-haired individuals noticed the trio and joined the group.

"Tyrell, loud as ever," Rief tutted, as he and his sister, Nowell, joined the group.

Tyrell grabbed the demure boy playfully around the shoulder. "Come on, Rief! There's six hours left in the day! Think about all the things there are to do!"

"There isn't much when you think about it Tyrell," Karis countered.

"Sure there isn't. I'm pretty sure you and Matthew are going to head home, get some action, so your day is complete," Tyrell retorted.

Karis blushed furiously. "W-w-what are you saying! We would never do something like that!"

Matthew just sighed, rolling his eyes slightly.

As he was rolling his eyes, he noticed something blazing out of the corner of his eye. Swivelling his head, focusing on the objects falling, his eyes widened as he realised they were large objects, some scattering over the horizon, but others approaching his location.

"RUN!" He screamed and turned towards his friends, who were shocked.

"What's gotten into you Matthew?" Karis asked.

"Look into the sky, no time to explain," Matthew mumbled, dragging Karis down the walkway.

They looked up, and saw the objects. Their eyes also widened, and they started running.

But it was futile. Apocalypse was already upon them; shattering everyone's lives as it landed, creating a shockwave and force so powerful that anyone standing close to the point of impact was instantly incinerated. Anyone else was blasted away by the sheer kinetic force.

###

"Were you close to the meteor?" The listener asked.

"Do you think I would be here if I was near it?" The cloaked man sarcastically asked.

###

Pain was the first thing he could recall. It was bad, but as he thought about it, it wasn't something signalling that he had imminent life-threatening injuries.

He opened his eyes, shaking his head to try and clear the scene of destruction in front of him. Rubble strewn about, bodies lying everywhere, with their last moments of horror etched onto their frozen faces.

He scrambled up, thanking silently that none of his bones were fractured (_amazingly, _he thought).

He looked around, trying to find anyone living. Tyrell. Nowell. Rief. Karis.

_Karis._

There was no-one he recognised, dead or alive.

"Hey! You there!" A man called from the dusty distance, startling Matthew, who turned around.

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" A burly, tall, red-haired man ran closer, who was in uniform.

"But…" Matthew could only feebly gesture at the bodies.

The burly man shook his head. "There's nothing we can do for the majority of them. My last orders were to find any survivors, and make sure they survive."

Matthew's head sunk for a moment, but then he looked at the man. "Alright. Lead the way."

The burly man nodded. "Let's go."

###

Matthew couldn't remember the next few hours. They were spent running away on foot, then scrambled into a vehicle, then passing through dusty clouds, occasionally running over a dead body (_or not dead person, _he thought chillingly).

"Slow down Alex! You're going to get us killed!" The burly man yelled at the other officer who was driving the vehicle erratically.

"We're already dead men walking Eoleo, who cares!" Alex screamed back. His eyes were dilated, his body trembling as the vehicle proceeded onwards at dangerous speed.

Eoleo pulled on the handbrake, sending the car into a slide before coming into a stop.

"Alex, we are NOT going to die, and we're not dead," Eoleo emphasised.

"Hahaha… HAHAHAHA!" Alex laughed maniacally. "Things coming out of the sky, bodies lying everywhere, and you can claim that we're not in Hell now?"

"We have our orders." Eoleo stated firmly. He grabbed Alex by the shoulder. "We're going to make it out alive."

Alex shrugged Eoleo's hand off. "We're not. I refuse to stay in a hell like this."

Alex pushed Eoleo hard, as Alex pulled his own sidearm out of the holster and pointed it at Eoleo.

"Don't worry, I'll save you and the boy. I'll save you BOTH!" He screamed.

"PUT DOWN THE GUN, ALEX!" Eoleo roared, as he tried recovering and reached for his sidearm. But it wasn't there.

"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing, you won't feel a thing, you won't feel a thing," Alex raved. "I'll save you both, don't you worry!"

A loud explosion happened within the confinement of the car.

Eoleo stared in amazement. Alex was slumped over the wheel of the car, a neat hole in his head.

Matthew was holding Eoleo's gun.

"I had to. Otherwise he was going to kill us both," he plainly stated. Matthew handed the gun back to Eoleo.

Eoleo shook his head. "I'm sorry you were even in this situation. You're one tough cookie, I'll give you that."

Matthew shrugged. "I'm not tough… but what's the point of crying and screaming? It's not going to achieve anything."

Eoleo grabbed Alex's handgun, and handed it to Matthew. "We better move by foot. I'd rather not… drive the car."

Matthew took the gun, and nodded at Eoleo. "You're right."

### End Chapter One: Endgame

A/N: Feels like forever since I've posted on here. Probably has been forever.

This isn't a story that is being made up on the go. I've got the idea already in my head; all that needs to be done now is flesh out the details. It's a good story in my opinion, but there's not going to be as much romance as I'm probably known for.

However, I will be updating my drabbles soon (hint: within the next week) so go check it out there when it's up.

I'm sorry if I haven't updated much, but I've just been gaming away (Dota 2 and CoD4, why oh why), so I recently decided to uninstall my games. ALL OF MY GAMES. MAY NYX BESTOW ME WITH HER GRACE. To focus on my studies.

I'm writing fiction again to help shape up my creativity and productivity – so stay tuned for more chapters.

Interesting note: apocalypse doesn't really mean "end of the world"… it actually just means an uncovering of a hidden truth!


	2. Meetings

A/N: I'd like to thank Jupitergirl1132 for pointing out that Karis does indeed have green hair, not purple hair. Somehow I got confused that her purple eyes were now her hair colour (I swear I'm retarded.)

###

They slowly walked through the dust, checking the bodies of the fallen to find any signs of life.

"No." Matthew said.

"Not here, either," Eoleo replied.

Exhausted, both mentally and physically.

"No." Matthew stated.

"Negative on this end," Eoleo replied once more.

But they had to continue going.

"Hello?" A feeble voice called out, startling both Eoleo and Matthew, but elevating both their moods.

"We're here!" Eoleo yelled, running towards the source. Matthew followed more cautiously, gun drawn at the ready.

A woman was trapped by a large piece of timber, desperately pushing against it. Eoleo quickly grabbed an end.

"Matthew, come give me a hand!" He called out.

Matthew scanned the area once more, squinting carefully before walking towards the beam and picking up the other end. "Area secure."

Despite the situation, Eoleo laughed. "I thought I was meant to be the police officer. Ok, 3, 2, 1… lift!"

They budged the beam so the woman could rise. She staggered up quickly, only to be gently pushed down by Matthew.

"Hey there, slow down. We need to make sure that nothing was crushed when that beam fell on you," Matthew said. "Could you tell me whether you have any injuries or not?

The woman shook her head. "I definitely don't have any. Just tired from trying to push against the beam so many times."

Matthew gestured at the area the beam was around. "Could you just double check?"

The woman stared at Matthew cautiously. "Why are you asking me to do this?"

"I'm a medical student," he replied simply. "I'm just making sure you don't have a life-threatening disease called Crush Syndrome."

The woman nodded. "Ok, makes much more sense." She checked, and confirmed that nothing was injured.

Eoleo was impressed. "Never knew that you were a medical student, Matthew."

Matthew shrugged. "It's not something I'm bragging about. I'd rather just use it to make sure people are ok."

The woman slowly rose to her feet. "I'm Sheba. Thank you for saving my life," she said, bowing with gratitude.

"No need for that, ma'am," Eoleo replied. "I'm sorry to say this, but I think it's best if we keep on the move."

Sheba nodded. "Of course, officer. Lead the way."

###

The dust haze still hadn't settled, so the trio decided to take caution over speed; after all, what is the point of rushing to nowhere?

Sheba shuddered every time they passed a dead body, whispering a small prayer for the person as Eoleo checked the body for vitals, hoping that they're alive, but their wish never granted.

Matthew trailed a small distance behind, his eyes constantly scanning, granting a small sense of security for the survivors.

They proceeded onwards, not speaking. What was there to say? Their worlds had all imploded in upon them, and they were stuck with each other, desperately hoping there were others alive, others who were grouped together, others…

"Hey! You three! Over here!"

Startled, the trio turned their heads towards the sounds, with Matthew raising his weapon, ready to protect them if needed.

"Hold your fire! We're survivors!" A group of people came out of the haze, their hands raised to show they meant no harm. An aged man with streaks of silver lining his hair stepped out from the group, and approaching Eoleo.

"Thank goodness we found some more people, and with that, protection," he muttered. "Good to see you, Officer."

"Don't call me Officer, just call me Eoleo," Eoleo replied, shaking hands with the man. "What's happening? Why do you need protection?"

The man turned around, as if he was scared of something in the haze. "I'm Kraden, and there are… these… _things…_ shadow demons, pouncing upon us…"

All of a sudden, a scream pierced the silence, coming from the next block.

Eoleo dipped his hand down and drew his firearm, and started running towards the site of the sound. "Matthew, protect these people! Get them towards safety!"

"Got it!" Matthew yelled in response. "Everyone, follow me."

Everyone started following him, ignoring the fact that he was the youngest within the group. Matthew started running in a perpendicular direction to the direction of the sound.

"Eoleo! I'm running towards the left!" Matthew called out.

"Roger that!" Eoleo replied in response.

Matthew led the charge through the dust, with people following him blindly.

_I just hope there's a building that's standing nearby_, he thought.

###

They made it outside of the death-trap of the city. Finally, they were within suburbia, with intact houses dotted around the place.

"There is still hope…" Sheba said, her face lighting up as she saw an intact corner shop.

Matthew cautiously entered the shop, his gun held up ready. "Is anyone here?"

No response.

He silently listened for a moment, before slowly going deeper into the store. He slowly and meticulously cleared out the place, going over it once more before he was satisfied. He lowered his weapon, and waved everyone forward. "This place is clear. Everyone, get settled in."

The small group of people all bundled forward, finding a spot to lie down or sit. Some cried – they were finally safe, safe from the nightmare outside.

Matthew found Kraden pulling water bottles off the shelves. "Kraden, roughly how many people are there in your group?"

Kraden turned around. "You mean our group, right?" He smiled lightly, showing Matthew that he was just teasing him. "I think we've got around twelve in total now."

"Counting Eoleo." Matthew started walking towards the entrance, keeping his eye out for the burly, red-haired man.

"I hope he comes back safely," Kraden prayed, as he started distributing the water bottles to everyone.

Matthew kept his gaze fixed on the street outside. "Tell me Kraden… about these shadow demons. And if you know – what happened just then?"

Kraden sighed, and joined Matthew by the entrance. "It's a long story."

"Best we start from the beginning." Sheba sidled up to the two of them, joining them by the window.

Matthew twitched; the first sign of restlessness they would notice from the quiet, thoughtful youth. "We have to go and retrieve Eoleo – we need him."

Kraden frowned. "You risk your life, not knowing where he is."

"He saved me. Saved Sheba. Ran off towards a threat without a care for his own safety. We have to at least try," Matthew countered.

"I'll go with you." Both Matthew and Kraden turned towards Sheba, startled by her intervention. "He saved my life, and I'm going to repay the favour."

"I'm not happy about this, but… go for it." Kraden sighed. "I can't believe I just said that. But please, I implore both of you – please take the utmost care."

Sheba and Matthew nodded. "We will."

### End Chapter Two – Meetings

A/N – I guess it's a little disjointed at the moment, but this story isn't meant to be a short one, with everything explained from the beginning. It'll make more sense as it goes on – what I can say is that I'm not going to be cruel and kill off Karis – she is, and WILL be alive. I hate killing off my main characters, so I try not doing that. That said, there is still character death – just more minor, supporting characters.

The story is continuing on nicely – it's fleshing out extremely well now.

For the reviewers: Jupitergirl1132, thanks for the correction again, and don't worry, Karis isn't dead, and it's confusing now but the story will make sense later.

Gnidrah, thank you for your support, I am releasing frequent chapters and I hope you'll enjoy this story :)

, thank you, I actually just got the email notification for the review as I was writing this up! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.


End file.
